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Australia - Source: ONE News
Moments after she stabbed her boyfriend to death on Christmas
Day, a NSW Central Coast woman sent a text message telling another
man she was going to eat the body because "I think he tastes
good".
In the NSW Supreme Court, Tamie Melehan admitted to killing her
boyfriend, but pleaded not guilty to murder by reason of mental
illness.
David Vaughan, 30, suffered 16 stab wounds to his neck, six to his
chest and four to his abdomen during the frenzied knife attack by
his girlfriend of three months at her apartment on December 25,
2008.
An autopsy revealed his jugular veins had been slashed on both
sides of his neck and he died from those "rapidly fatal"
injuries.
As her murder trial was about to begin, Melehan, 29, admitted to
the actions which caused Vaughan's death, but pleaded not guilty
for reasons of mental illness.
Melehan has a long history of mental illness and was diagnosed with
paranoid schizophrenia in 2002, the court heard.
Prosecutor Michael O'Brien said that at the time Vaughan was
killed, Melehan sent another man a series of text messages telling
him she missed him and inviting him over to feast on her
boyfriend's "delicate meat".
"Oi, can I eat this fella?" she said.
"I think he tastes good ... there's enough to go around if you want
to join in - no joke, delicate meat ...
"Dear me, need help to get rid of the body."
A little later she phoned her mother saying, "Can you come over and
get him before I slit his throat?"
Melehan's mother, Loretta Watts, arrived at her daughter's home to
find Vaughan dead on the floor of the shower with blood gurgling
out of a slash wound in his neck.
O'Brien told Justice Monika Schmidt there was ample psychiatric
evidence to support claims that Melehan was suffering an acute
exacerbation of her chronic mental illness and was acting in a
delusional way at the time of the attack.
"The Crown submits on the evidence that is before your honour, your
honour would make a finding that the accused is not guilty of the
offence within the grounds of mental illness," he said.
Justice Schmidt adjourned proceedings and is expected to give her
decision soon.
